Taipei City Government

Mayor Ko Wen-je presided over an information session on the City’s social welfare programs for 2015 in the form of Civil Café on February 26, in line with his commitment to promoting “participatory democracy” and drawing upon the wisdom from citizens through holding public conferences.

According to Ko, the City has set aside a budget of NT$168 billion for social welfare, accounting for one tenth of the City’s total budget. With such a huge proportion of budget earmarked to push ahead with social programs, he noted that the resources must be invested in an effective manner and on efforts to truly meet people’s needs.

In light of this, Ko remarked that the Civil Café served as a platform for the public members to express their opinions, point out the problems, and propose solutions from the bottom up. The meeting also saw officials from the Department of Social Welfare play the role as host and recorders of the discussions, giving them an opportunity to engage and mobilize private sector sources for the public good.

Addressing other social welfare issues in a media session following the event, Ko talked about the importance of setting reasonable salary standards for certified baby-sitters. He also made a case for freeing up public spaces to establish more child care centers to be operated by private businesses.